Spotify reveals the most streamed artists, tracks and albums of 2018

04 December 2018 - Press release

• Drake was the most streamed artist in the UK and worldwide in 2018
• Drake’s ‘God’s Plan’ was the most streamed track, and ‘Scorpion’ was the most streamed album in the UK and worldwide in 2018
• Dua Lipa was the most streamed female artist in the UK
• Ed Sheeran was the most streamed British artist in the world

Spotify shares its annual Year in Music top lists, revealing the top artists, albums, tracks and moments that made 2018 such an amazing year for music fans.

Here’s an overview of what happened in the UK and globally:

2018 unquestionably belongs to Drake, who has been smashing Spotify records all year following the release of his album, ‘Scorpion’, making him the most streamed artist both in the UK and globally. His album ‘Scorpion’ was the most streamed album of the year, both in the UK and globally, and ‘God’s Plan’ was the most streamed track of 2018 both in the UK and globally with over 1.1bn streams.

Ariana Grande’s 49 million plus monthly listeners drove her to become Spotify’s most-streamed female artist of 2018, following in the footsteps of three-time winner Rihanna. She had a number of hits throughout the year, including her fourth album ‘Sweetener’ and her recent single ‘thank u, next’.

Dua Lipa also had an amazing 2018, breaking a number of records on Spotify, and making her the second most-streamed female of 2018 globally, and the most streamed female in the UK. Her track ‘One Kiss’ with Calvin Harris was the UK’s second most-streamed track of the year behind ‘God’s Plan’, and the album ‘Dua Lipa’ was the third most streamed album of the year in the UK (4th globally), behind ‘Scorpion’ and Post Malone’s ‘beerbongs & bentleys’.

Even without an album release in 2018, Ed Sheeran - 2017’s most streamed artist - was still the most streamed British artist in the world, and the fifth most-streamed artist of the year overall.

Check out our full lists of the top artists, songs and albums below. And don’t forget to visit the Wrapped microsite on December 6th to see your personal favourites and most-streamed tracks, and receive a playlist based on your musical tastes.

Attached is the infographic, which you can also find HERE (in JPG and PSD),

Spotify’s UK Top Lists 2018: 

Most Streamed Artist: UK  

1. Drake
2. Post Malone
3. Eminem
4. Ed Sheeran
5. XXXTENTACION 

Most streamed female artist: UK

1. Dua Lipa
2. Ariana Grande
3. Jess Glynne
4. Rihanna
5. Anne-Marie 

Most streamed track: UK

1. God's Plan - Drake
2. One Kiss (with Dua Lipa) - Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris
3. Nice for What - Drake
4. Shotgun - George Ezra
5. These Days (feat. Jess Glynne, Macklemore, Dan Caplan) - Rudimental, Jess Glynne, Macklemore 

Most streamed album: UK

1. Drake - Scorpion
2. Post Malone - beerbongs & bentleys
3. Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa
4. Ed Sheeran - ÷
5. George Ezra - Staying at Tamara’s 

Most popular Spotify playlists by followers:

1. Hot Hits UK
2. Today’s Top Hits
3. Massive Dance Hits
4. #ThrowbackThursday
5. Every UK Number One: 2018 

Spotify’s Global Top Lists 2018: 

Most-Streamed Artists: Global

Drake is the world’s most-streamed artist, with more than 8.2 billion streams this year. J Balvin, who made his top-five debut, had multiple hits on our global chart, such as “X” (with Nicky Jam) and “I Like It” (with Cardi B). 

1. Drake
2. Post Malone
3. XXXTENTACION
4. J Balvin
5. Ed Sheeran*

*Ed Sheeran was the most-streamed artist in 2017 

Most-Streamed Female Artists: Global

Spotify’s most-streamed female artist, Ariana Grande, released her hotly anticipated fourth album, “Sweetener,” in August. She had a momentous year with numerous charting singles, including her latest smash “thank u, next.” Grande’s music streamed more than 3 billion times in 2018.  

1. Ariana Grande
2. Dua Lipa
3. Cardi B
4. Taylor Swift
5. Camila Cabello 

Most-Streamed Tracks: Global

While it was the summer of “In My Feelings,” Drake’s track “God’s Plan” was actually the most-streamed song of 2018. Post Malone also scored two songs on this list with both “rockstar (feat. 21 Savage)” and “Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign).” 

1. God's Plan - Drake
2. SAD! - XXXTENTACION
3. rockstar (feat. 21 Savage) - Post Malone
4. Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Post Malone
5. In My Feelings - Drake 

Most-Streamed Albums: Global

Drake’s “Scorpion” was released on June 29, and before long was racking up 10 million streams an hour. Dua Lipa’s self-titled debut album also had a stellar year, and Ed Sheeran’s 2017 album “÷” made the top five a year after its release. 

1. Scorpion - Drake
2. beerbongs & bentleys - Post Malone
3. ? - XXXTENTACION
4. Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa
5. ÷ - Ed Sheeran*

*Ed Sheeran’s ÷ was the top album in 2017 

Most-Streamed Groups*: Global

Imagine Dragons is Spotify’s most-streamed group for 2018, but K-pop sensation BTS also enjoyed plenty of global listening. Maroon 5 and Migos come in third and fourth, and Coldplay took fifth. 

1. Imagine Dragons
2. BTS
3. Maroon 5
4. Migos
5. Coldplay** 

*Must have three or more members

** Coldplay was 2017’s most-streamed group 

Most-Followed Playlists: Global

Today’s Top Hits is 2018’s most popular playlist. It’s the best place to go to find out what’s trending in popular music—and about 22 million followers agree. Rounding out the top five is Songs to Sing in the Car, with Beyoncé’s “Halo,” and Camilla Caballo’s “Havana” as the top-two songs people are belting on their road trips. 

1. Today's Top Hits
2. RapCaviar
3. ¡Viva Latino!
4. Baila Reggaeton
5. Songs to Sing in the Car 

Most-Streamed Exclusive Spotify Podcasts: Global

As we continue to expand our repertoire of exclusive and original podcasts, these are the podcasts resonating the most with Spotify listeners around the world. 

1. Fest & Flauschig
2. The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal
3. Dissect
4. Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith
5. TALK-O-MAT 

Most-Streamed Podcast Genres: Global 

1. Crime and Mystery
2. Comedy
3. News & Politics
4. Health
5. Arts 

Genres That Grew the Most in 2018: Global 

1. EMO Rap
2. Lo-fi Beats
3. Deep Talent Show
4. Ringtone
5. Brega Funk